The Real Estate Agent Alphabet

Alphabet Letters after a person's name seem to bestow some kind of special prestige. PHD, MD, ESQ are common... but just look at what is available to real estate sales people...

ABR, ABRM, ALC, CCIM, CIPS, CPM, ARM, AMO, CRB, CRS, CRE, GAA, GRI, RCE, RAA, SIOR, AHWD ePRO, CAM, CBR, C-CREC, CLHMS, CREA, CRIA, QSC and SRES designations.

Can anyone, anywhere explain just exactly what those 26 acronyms mean and what the qualifications are to earn the use each of them? And if you can ... WHY?

Some of those designations have extensive requirements, including several days or even a full week in a classroom setting, a written examination, a certain number of years in the business and evidence of having closed a required number of transactions in the specialty.

And then there's the real estate equivalent of The Skull & Bones... the CRE designation. Only 1,000 people hold it,the qualifications are secret, and membership is by invitation only. Yipes... are they licensed to kill?

Oh yes, let's not forget the QSC designation. That one requires a live or online course, a 40-question multiple choice quiz, a signed commitment to quality statementand participation in a perpetual customer surveyprogram that costs $50 for every 20 surveys.

RE/MAX International has a designation for RE/MAX sales agents. This one is the "internationally recognizedCNHS designation." Translated that stands for"Certified New Home Specialist."

Since its international you can sell homes in Transylvaniawhere you don't have to disclose that the previous ownerwas a vampire?

The Women's Council of Realtors awards the LTG designation. Please excuse me, but I can't figure that one out since I have just been stricken with a severe case of dyslexia

What I really want is an agent who can find a buyer and properly fill out a purchase agreement. No alphabet required.

How about just finding and assigning propertieswithout cash, credit or much risk? Sounds good?

Learn how here: http://digbig.com/4cmxe

About The Author: Mark Walters is a third generation real estate investor. From his Web sites he shares his experince:http://www.cashflowinstitute.com & http://www.lease-option-sub2.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.